Vehicle accelerator pedal responsiveness adjuster

Abstract

A mean of real-time accelerator pedal output of a vehicle that quantifies an extent to which an accelerator pedal has been pressed by a driver of the vehicle over a defined period of time is determined. Target mean accelerator pedal output for the vehicle is determined. Torque of the vehicle is changed. The torque is reduced when the mean of the real-time accelerator pedal output is lower than the target mean accelerator pedal output, and the torque is increased when the mean of the real-time accelerator pedal output is higher than the target mean accelerator pedal output.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for adjusting an accelerator pedal responsiveness, the method comprising:
 determining a mean of a real-time accelerator pedal output of a vehicle, wherein the real-time accelerator pedal output quantifies an extent to which an accelerator pedal has been pressed by a driver of the vehicle over a defined period of time;   determining a target mean accelerator pedal output for the vehicle, wherein the target mean accelerator pedal output represents an average pedal pressing behavior of a reference driver, and wherein the average pedal pressing behavior of the reference driver is determined based on an observed pedal pressing behavior history of the reference driver, and wherein the average pedal pressing behavior of the reference driver at a road that the vehicle is traversing is determined based on an observed pedal pressing behavior history of the reference driver; and   changing a torque of the vehicle based on the target mean accelerator pedal output, wherein changing the torque comprises:
 reducing the torque when the mean of the real-time accelerator pedal output is lower than the target mean accelerator pedal output; and 
 increasing the torque when the mean of the real-time accelerator pedal output is higher than the target mean accelerator pedal output. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the target mean accelerator pedal output for the vehicle comprises:
 determining whether a real-time speed of the vehicle falls within a pre-defined speed range of the road that the vehicle is traversing; and   responsive to determining that the real-time speed of the vehicle falls within the pre-defined speed range, identifying the target mean accelerator pedal output based on a type of the road that the vehicle is traversing.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the road corresponds to a one of a city road, an urban road, a rural road, or a highway road. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the reference driver consists of multiple drivers. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the target mean accelerator pedal output for the vehicle comprises:
 identifying a drive mode selected, wherein the drive mode corresponds to a one of a comfort drive mode, sport drive mode, eco drive mode, snow drive mode, and a wet drive mode; and   identifying, based on a type of a road that the vehicle is traversing and the drive mode, the target mean accelerator pedal output.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 responsive to determining that the mean of the real-time accelerator pedal output matches the target mean accelerator pedal output or a threshold value based on the target mean accelerator pedal output, changing a sensitivity of the accelerator pedal such that a variance of a frequency or probability distribution of the real-time accelerator pedal output approaches a variance of a frequency or probability distribution corresponding to the target mean accelerator pedal output.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein:
 decreasing the variance of the frequency or probability distribution of the real-time accelerator pedal output corresponds to increasing the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal; and   increasing the variance of the frequency or probability distribution of the real-time accelerator pedal output corresponds to decreasing the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal.   
     
     
         8 . A vehicle, comprising:
 a memory; and   a processor configured to:
 determine a mean of a real-time accelerator pedal output of the vehicle, wherein the real-time accelerator pedal output quantifies an extent to which an accelerator pedal has been pressed by a driver of the vehicle over a defined period of time; 
 determine a target mean accelerator pedal output for the vehicle, wherein the target mean accelerator pedal output represents an average pedal pressing behavior of a reference driver, and wherein the average pedal pressing behavior of the reference driver is determined based on an observed pedal pressing behavior history of the reference driver, and wherein the average pedal pressing behavior of the reference driver at a road that the vehicle is traversing is determined based on an observed pedal pressing behavior history of the reference driver; and 
 change a torque of the vehicle based on the target mean accelerator pedal output, wherein to change the torque comprises to:
 reduce the torque when the mean of the real-time accelerator pedal output is lower than the target mean accelerator pedal output; and 
 increase the torque when the mean of the real-time accelerator pedal output is higher than the target mean accelerator pedal output. 
 
   
     
     
         9 . The vehicle of  claim 8 , wherein to determine the target mean accelerator pedal output of the vehicle comprises to:
 determine whether a real-time speed of the vehicle falls within a pre-defined speed range of the road that the vehicle is traversing; and   responsive to determining that the real-time speed of the vehicle falls within the pre-defined speed range, identify the target mean accelerator pedal output based on a type of the road that the vehicle is traversing.   
     
     
         10 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the road corresponds to a one of a city road, an urban road, a rural road, or a highway road. 
     
     
         11 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the reference driver consists of multiple drivers. 
     
     
         12 . The vehicle of  claim 8 , wherein to determine the target mean accelerator pedal output for the vehicle comprises to:
 identify a drive mode selected, wherein the drive mode corresponds to a one of a comfort drive mode, sport drive mode, eco drive mode, snow drive mode, and a wet drive mode; and   identify, based on a type of a road that the vehicle is traversing and the drive mode, the target mean accelerator pedal output.   
     
     
         13 . The vehicle of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 responsive to determining that the mean of the real-time accelerator pedal output matches the target mean accelerator pedal output or a threshold value based on the target mean accelerator pedal output, change a sensitivity of the accelerator pedal such that a variance of a frequency or probability distribution of the real-time accelerator pedal output approaches a variance of a frequency or probability distribution corresponding to the target mean accelerator pedal output.   
     
     
         14 . The vehicle of  claim 13 , wherein:
 to decrease the variance of the frequency or probability distribution of the real-time accelerator pedal output corresponds to increase the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal; and   to increase the variance of the frequency or probability distribution of the real-time accelerator pedal output corresponds to decrease the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal.   
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, to-perform operations comprising:
 determining a real-time accelerator pedal output of a vehicle, wherein the real-time accelerator pedal output quantifies an extent to which an accelerator pedal has been pressed by a driver of the vehicle over a defined period of time;   determining a target mean accelerator pedal output and a target variance for the vehicle based on a type of a road that the vehicle is traversing, wherein the target mean accelerator pedal output represents an average pedal pressing behavior of a reference driver, and wherein the average pedal pressing behavior of the reference driver is determined based on an observed pedal pressing behavior history of the reference driver, and wherein the average pedal pressing behavior of the reference driver at the road is determined based on an observed pedal pressing behavior history of the reference driver; and   changing a sensitivity of the accelerator pedal based on the target variance, wherein the target variance corresponds to a variance of a frequency or probability distribution corresponding to the target mean accelerator pedal output.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein determining the target mean accelerator pedal output for the vehicle comprises:
 determining whether a real-time speed of the vehicle falls within a pre-defined speed range of the road that the vehicle is traversing; and   responsive to determining that the real-time speed of the vehicle falls within the pre-defined speed range, identifying the target mean accelerator pedal output and the target variance based on the type of the road that the vehicle is traversing.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the road corresponds to a one of a city road, an urban road, a rural road, or a highway road. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the reference driver consists of multiple drivers. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein determining the target mean accelerator pedal output and the target variance for the vehicle comprises:
 identifying a drive mode selected, wherein the drive mode corresponds to a one of a comfort drive mode, sport drive mode, eco drive mode, snow drive mode, and a wet drive mode; and   identifying, based on the type of the road that the vehicle is traversing and the drive mode, the target mean accelerator pedal output and the target variance.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein changing the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal based on the target variance comprises:
 adjusting the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal such that a variance of a frequency or probability distribution of the real-time accelerator pedal output approaches the target variance.